Parents say

Kids say

NOT for young children

I read the reviews, every one of them. My husband did too. We thought some seemed a little ‘uptight’ maybe and that armed with the foreknowledge of what to expect, we could appropriately cover eyes and strategically leave the room to skip scenes. It wasn’t enough.
My boys are 11 and nearly 4. My 4 year old likes Halloween, routinely pretends to be Dracula, and sleeps with a Jack Skellington ‘teddy bear’.
Even knowing what to expect and with boys who *like* spooky things- this was too much for both of them.
We were doing ok, skipping some of the evil witch and the flashback scenes (both mentioned in prior reviews), and seeing the gags in the first half of the movie thought it was going to be just fine. (Magical Cat poop). BUT when the zombie Isaac kisses his wife it all went downhill.
Every time we were ready to jump back in and watch there was another scene to skip and another. It wasn’t gruesome, just creepy, but it was the type of things you would see in a horror film for adults, images you see for just a moment and it’s enough to stay with you...
Finally, with both boys very upset as they caught glimpses along the way, we tried to find a spot near the ending to tune in on-so we could have a happily ever after closure. (Not totally successful).
I’m reminded of one of the reviewers saying ‘I feel I failed my children’ because I do. My instincts were against the movie, they begged and we gave in- I am so sorry I did.
Skip this one unless you have older children or if your kids are already at the level of say - Stranger Things, you’ll be fine. If they haven’t seen anything more frightening than Harry Potter -let it go.
About 20 minutes later, my younger son was still afraid to be in a room without me holding him tightly-it’s going to be a long night...

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PG Rating FRAUDULENT

Do not allow anyone under 12 years old to see this movie that SHOULD have been rated PG-13 AT LEAST for all the excess violence. A great movie for those 12 and older, lots of action and adventure - despite obvious product-placement. I have never let my children watch anything like this before age 12 - but, regretfully, did NOT check the reviews ahead of time. Shame on me for not checking (also trusted Disney, PG, kids movie...) SHAME ON YOU, DISNEY! Shame on those of you letting your young children watch this kind of crap and worse! As an educator, I see first-hand every day the effects of TOO MUCH MEDIA, TOO MUCH VIOLENCE and the OVER-SEXUALIZATION of our children - to the point that NO ONE seems to think ANYTHING IS WRONG! How disgusting...We REAP what we SOW, America!

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Great for kids of all ages (including one of 39yr's old!!)

My Kids Loved it. Youngest (4) found a few scenes a little perilous, but manageable. Very exciting for them as it was almost 'grown' up entertainment (yes I enjoyed it too!) so a good film for everyone to sit down and watch together.

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A Movie That Adults Will Also Enjoy

I've read all the reviews and almost universally it seems that younger girls reacted more negatively to the action than did the boys. Parents may want to take that into account.
My husband and I watched this with our two sons (9 and 12) and we all thought it was a fun action/thriller. No one was disturbed by the violent content. (For the record, we do not allow Teen games or PG-13 films.)
It can be difficult for us to find age-appropriate movies that don't bore the adults to tears. This film was entertaining for all.
If your children are more sensitive then definitely check out the original Witch Mountain movies.

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Surprisingly violent but kind of fun action-adventure flick

I wish that I'd seen these reviews before I took my 8-year-old daughter to see it. But that said, she really enjoyed it and is going to see it again with her 12-year-old cousin It was far more violent than I expected--but not overwhelmingly so. On the plus side, it's not explicitly sexual and there's no profanity. I reluctantly have to admit that this is an OK action adventure flick for kids who aren't troubled by intense explosions and somewhat gross aliens. I found it boring--don't look for deep characters or plot. It was a tolerable diversion at the $1 theatre during a hot summer night ;-) We usually avoid stuff that's this violent...but it's not awful and has some fun &amp; entertaining moments...

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Not as bad as some said.

I was really nervous about taking my 8, 11, and 13 year old to see this movie after reading the reviews here. I don't let them play T rated video games and try to limit their violent exposure in movies. However, I thought this movie was o.k. My kids loved it. The 8 year old is a boy and he thought it was great and scoffed at being scared during it. I think they found it exciting.

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Too violent/smash em up

My 8 year old loved the movie. I found it too violent with the pre-eminent message throughout being "if someone gets in your way just mow them down with force." The concept was fine and could have been really cute if they'd done away with all the violence. Would love to see someone do a movie with the Hitchcock approach...you know something happened but you didn't need to actually see it. I wouldn't take my 8 year old daughter if I'd known.

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Violence & scariness

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Loud and intense violence may scare your child

Our 8 year old was shielding her eyes from all the explosions and intensity of the two children being chased. The action is very fast paced and the noise level quite loud. If your child is sensitive to these situations you would be better off seeing something else.

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Violence & scariness

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Save your money and rent the original!

I took my 8-year-old son to this and regret it. He was not scared, but I was appalled at the level of violence and the poorly written screenplay. I agree with the other reviewer who said it contributes to the desensitizing of kids to excessive violence.
Mostly this was a vehicle for "The Rock" to flex his muscles. The kids were one-dimensional characters who did not solve their own problems, unlike the original. They are simply flat characters waiting to be rescued by Rock-dude.
We rented the original for comparison and it is so much better for young kids! That story has a much better plot, well-developed characters who you care about, humor appropriate to kids, etc. It's a fun, nostalgic flashback for those of us who saw it in the 1970s.
Save your money and rent the original, have a pizza at home, and spare your kids the gratuitous violence!

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Violence & scariness

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Mosst violent Disney movie ever.

The boys (10,12) were entertained. Amazed that we got my 14 year old to see it. "Not as bad as I though it was going to be," was his review.
THIS IS THE MOST VIOLENT KIDS MOVIE I have ever seen. The final escape involves a hail of bullets that would make Scarface jealous.

Saw this with my son, who's a month shy of 10 years old. I have mixed feelings about it, as although there was no swearing or sexual innuendo, there was also no imagination to the drama, as from almost the beginning viewers take in repeated car chases, gun pointing and shooting, explosions and wrecks, or fist-fighting. All cartoonish, with no blood or depicted deaths, yet I am struck by how accustomed young people are becoming to this type of violence as depicted, in particular, in video games. The alien assassin in the movie was drawn conceptually from "The Terminator" and physically from "Predator," and was physically threatening throughout. I couldn't help but contrast the violence in this movie with the alien hunters in "E.T.," who didn't threaten violence against the kids in the film, yet nevertheless felt menacing. This film, though entertaining and with its star, Duane Johnson, undeniably appealing to kids, totally lacks that sense of cleverness. I'd advise parents with kids younger than 11 or 12 to think twice about taking their kids to see this if, for instance, they are bothered by the level of violence depicted in many "Mature" video games. This movie is at that level, minus the blood. Although an adult wouldn't find enough of interest here to go preview the movie before taking a child, I can also say had I seen this film on my own I might have gone thumbs-down for my 9-year-old seeing it, precisely because I don't want him getting so accustomed to this level of depicted violence that there's a separation from just how violent shootings, car or train collisions, and fights really are. (I'm writing this in the evening of the same day we saw the film, and wondering if he's going to feel scared at bedtime.) That said, he didn't seem to be bothered by anything in the film and said he'd give it a "3". I'd probably be closer to a "2 1/2," and definitely less for kids younger than 9.

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